Abstract
BackgroundEarlier, we reported that multidimensional family therapy (MDFT) and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) decreased criminal offending in adolescents as measured with self-report in a randomised controlled trial with 1-year follow-up. The present study tested if this effect could be confirmed using police arrest data.MethodsStudy participants were 109 adolescents who were recruited for the Dutch part of a transnational treatment trial. National police arrest records were analysed for 3 years before the adolescents entered treatment with MDFT or CBT and for 7 years after treatment entry.ResultsPolice arrest rates rose in the 3 years preceding treatment and then dropped in both treatment groups to almost zero level during the follow-up period.ConclusionsThe results suggest that MDFT and CBT both strongly and durably decreased police arrest rates. However, this conclusion remains uncertain as crime rates concurrently decreased in the general population.Trial registrationISRCTN51014277
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